Cervical migraine is a type of mixed pathology that has orthopedic, neurological and vascular origin. The disease is diagnosed regardless of gender, age and other factors. Some categories of patients suffer more often. These include people whose professional duties involve staying in one place for a long time, in an uncomfortable position; athletes and some others also suffer.
Clinical signs are similar to those of “typical” migraine, but often the intensity and localization of the pain syndrome are different. Characterized by a wavy flow. The attacks are replaced by periods of normalization of well-being, and so on in a circle. The average duration of an episode is several hours. But there are known cases of continuous flow for 2-4 days or even more.
Diagnosis is carried out on an outpatient basis. Most often, cervical migraine is not dangerous in itself, but indicates dangerous pathological processes that can cause stroke and vascular disorders.
Drug therapy. If necessary, surgical treatment is performed. The success and prospects for complete recovery depend on the quality of the therapy and its timeliness. The more advanced the process, the more difficult it is to cope with it.
What kind of disease is this and where does it come from?
As everyone knows, cervical migraine is a specialized disease that can be triggered by compression of the nerves surrounding the vertebral artery. This disease can be observed in many people, and it can be caused by completely different reasons, which will help determine what it is.
If you try hard and understand this disease, then you can note with a hundred percent probability that cervical migraine is a severe headache that is almost impossible to withstand and survive without the use of specialized medications.
Research procedures for the syndrome
The symptomatic syndrome is diagnosed based on the patient's complaints. In this case, the following research procedures are prescribed:
- X-ray of the cervical spine
- blood test to determine cholesterol and lipid levels
- Ultrasound examination
- Rheoencelography
- MRI
Interesting! The test method can confirm or refute the doctor’s assumption that the patient has the syndrome by pressing the projection of additional vertebral arteries. If migraine symptoms worsen as a result of such a test, the doctor may suspect the presence of the disease.
How are headaches and neck pain related?
Everything is actually very, very simple. The correct functioning of the brain is ensured only by proper blood circulation in it, which, in turn, occurs through exactly the two most important arteries in the human body - the vertebral artery and the carotid artery.
If we talk about impaired blood flow in the area of the carotid artery, then this is a very rare and almost never encountered phenomenon, which cannot be said about impaired blood supply in the brain area.
Disruption of blood supply to the brain through the vertebral artery occurs much more often. It follows from this that one can see the most direct connection between headaches and severe compression of the nerves, which precisely lead to severe pain in the head area.
Main causes of migraine in the neck area
Once it has become clear why exactly a disease such as cervical migraine manifests itself, you can understand in detail why exactly this disease can manifest itself in a person. In fact, there may be several reasons, but the most common ones, which are the leading ones today, should be noted:
- Osteochondrosis in the cervical spine, that is, damage to cartilage tissue;
- Any pathologies that are congenital in nature;
- Any, even minor injuries in the cervical spine;
- Atherosclerosis in the area of the vertebral artery;
- Muscle spasms may also be the cause.
These are just a few reasons, but they are the most popular today. If you thoroughly understand the reasons why this disease manifests itself, you can promptly provide the person with the most effective treatment and, as a result, achieve positive results.
But, before we talk about timely and effective therapy, we should say a few words about the manifestation of this disease. If you know the manifestations of cervical migraine, you can have an excellent opportunity to diagnose it in a timely and most accurate manner.
Prevention
To ensure that the treatment of cervical migraine does not go in vain, it is necessary to carry out preventive therapy. The patient should pay attention to the following recommendations:
- Avoid spinal injuries;
- Do not lift heavy objects. And if necessary, do it correctly, sitting down and not bending;
- Watch your diet;
- To refuse from bad habits;
- Playing sports, best of all, swimming;
- Avoid stressful situations.
And, of course, an important point is to pay attention to your health. You should not allow the development of inflammatory processes, and if they are detected, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Main symptoms of the disease
The first thing that needs to be cleared in order to diagnose the disease is that cervical migraine appears in a person only periodically, so that after some time the symptoms of cervical migraine begin to disappear almost without a trace.
But, if the stage of the disease has already reached an advanced state, then its manifestations will be observed very often.
One of the most important symptoms of cervical migraine in a person is, of course, severe pain that is localized in the back of the head. Of course, they can also move to the frontal part of the human head and even to the area of the eye sockets.
Of course, if the disease, and the person himself, is in a state of complete or relative calm, then the pain in this state will not be so noticeable for the person, but if a person who has a cervical migraine sharply or at least too quickly increases his activity , the pain will be very strong and intensify quickly.
In the process of throwing the head back, a person will experience a sharp darkening in the eyes, as well as severe dizziness. In some, but very rare cases, even fainting is possible.
Development of cervical disease
The pathological condition (specific cause) has an irritating effect on nerve endings and arteries. This causes spasm of the muscle components and rapid narrowing of the walls. Spasms can be permanent or appear when turning or tilting the head - blood flow decreases and an attack begins.
The mechanism of development of pathology occurs in several stages:
- Initial or reversible . Characterized by infrequent narrowing of the walls of blood vessels, episodic attacks and mild additional symptoms.
- Second, irreversible phase . The narrowing of the walls only intensifies. The frequency of attacks is increasing.
Possible consequences
The danger of cervical migraine lies not in the frequency and intensity of attacks, but in possible complications.
Among the common negative consequences:
- visual and hearing disorders;
- anxiety;
- depression;
- "panic attacks".
A person lives in anticipation of a second attack, loses ability to work, his sleep deteriorates and problems with digestion begin.
IMPORTANT! The list of complex consequences of cervical migraine includes migraine stroke and prolonged attacks of seizures.
You can find out why migraines are dangerous in general from this article.
Pain in the back of the head - what can you feel?
If we talk strictly about the advanced stages of cervical migraine, then the symptoms include a sharp but short-term deterioration in hearing and vision, the appearance of peculiar spots from the fog or flickering directly before the eyes.
Also very common are tinnitus, nausea and dizziness, as is the case with a variant called Barre's posterior cervical sympathetic syndrome, which has the same symptoms.
Dizziness. In fact, dizziness is one of the most important and most dangerous symptoms of cervical migraine.
To begin with, it should be noted that precisely in the initial stages of the disease, its symptoms will occur only periodically, so they will not significantly affect human life.
But, if suddenly the disease takes on a serious form, the impact on everyday life will be more noticeable, not only for the suffering person, but also for his environment. For example, a person who has started a cervical migraine will be characterized by increased depression, nervousness, irritability and even aggressiveness.
With all this, a severe and almost unbearable headache can have a significant impact on almost all areas of a person’s life, regardless of whether it is work, leisure, friends or family.
Folk remedies
Cervical migraine is a disease that has long been known to mankind and is quite insidious. It will take a very long time to treat it. One week or one month will not solve the problem. This often takes years. But be patient. There are many folk remedies for relieving attacks and treatment.
These are various herbal compresses, ointments and decoctions:
- Ointment made from lard and hops. Lubricate the back of the head with this ointment before going to bed, then wrap the neck well.
- Ointment from birch buds, mint, dandelion roots. Boil a steep broth with half a glass of boiling water, combine with butter or lard. Rub into neck.
- St. John's wort oil.
- A compress of cabbage leaves smeared with honey.
- Horseradish leaf compress. The leaves need to be preheated.
- Burdock leaf compress.
To improve blood circulation in the brain, you need to walk in the fresh air as often as possible, take at least short breaks from work, and get proper sleep and rest.
Cervical migraine is a fairly common disease, and today there are many folk remedies for its treatment that complement traditional medicine well.
To improve blood circulation during an attack, you can apply a cold compress to the forehead or temporal part, while immersing your feet in hot water.
Hot, strong and sweet tea helps relieve pain, to which experts recommend adding lemon balm, chamomile, lavender, etc. These herbs have not only analgesic, but also calming properties.
Good prevention against migraines is provided by daily neck stretching exercises.
How can you treat the disease?
If we consider the issues of treatment and therapy of this disease, then it is imperative to note that migraine, in its symptoms and in its treatment, is very closely connected, that is, both symptoms and treatment are closely interrelated.
That is why, first of all, when the disease manifests itself and its first symptoms, it is important to contact a qualified specialist, who, in turn, after a number of tests and studies, will prescribe appropriate treatment. Among the detailed studies for cervical migraine, the following types of diagnostics can be distinguished:
- Neurological examination of the patient;
- Examination of the patient using tomography and Doppler sonography;
- Determining the root cause of migraine.
Additionally, it should be noted that in fact there are a lot of different methods with which you can carry out competent and most accurate treatment of the disease.
By the way, the most effective method of treating a disease should be selected only after an accurate determination of its root cause.
So, what treatment methods are the most popular today?
Treatment of the disease with medications. In this case, treatment includes taking anti-inflammatory, diuretic and painkillers. In addition, during drug treatment it is necessary to use muscle relaxants, chondroprotectors, vitamin preparations and medications that improve blood circulation.
If we are talking about the most common cause of the disease, that is, osteochondrosis, then one of the most popular and most effective ways to treat the disease will, of course, be physical therapy.
Let us note in advance that physical therapy classes should not only be prescribed, but also constantly monitored only by a qualified specialist with many years of experience.
After the first physical therapy activities have been carried out in specially designated places, you can move on to physical education classes in your own home. But the most important thing when engaging in therapeutic and health-improving physical education is to be one hundred percent persistent, so as not to abandon classes half or a quarter of the way.
In addition to all of the above, plus all physical health exercises, a qualified specialist can also prescribe special medications that can give the fastest but short-term effect in treating the disease.
Such medications mainly include painkillers and medications that can improve blood circulation several times.
Another high-quality and results-producing method for treating this disease is a specialized course of therapeutic massage, but only on the condition that this same course should be carried out only by a qualified specialist with many years of experience and competent, gentle, strong hands.
Causes and treatments
If the cause of the manifestation of this disease is precisely an anomaly in the spine or blood vessels, then the help of a surgeon will be required, who must carry out timely surgical intervention. But this is only in rare and most severe cases.
Usually, particularly serious anomalies can be noticed in early and late childhood, and that is why they require urgent and high-quality treatment. If we are talking about a person who has long left childhood, then, in most cases, the already mentioned osteochondrosis will also be diagnosed.
If we talk about injuries in the cervical spine, then only surgical treatment will be required, followed by a mandatory period of rehabilitation. During the rehabilitation period, massages and, of course, physical therapy classes are necessary. In addition to all this, short-term physical therapy may be prescribed.
Muscle spasm. If the root cause of the disease is muscle spasm, then this means that the person will be prescribed exercise therapy, so it will be extremely important and even vital to adhere to the same systematicity and consistency. And in this case, physiotherapy and massages are also used.
But in no case should you treat this disease yourself, that is, practice treatment with folk remedies, since this activity can be not only useless and ineffective, but also, quite simply, dangerous to human life and health, especially if it is We are talking about long-term use of painkillers.
Treatment is carried out mainly by qualified neurologists, and purely conservative methods are used for treatment:
- Taking various painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Nimesulide, Meloxicam and Nurofen;
- Taking medications that help improve blood circulation and patency in the area of the vertebral arteries, that is, taking Cinnarizine and Instenon;
- Taking B vitamins, which help improve brain nutrition;
- Taking neuroprotective drugs that serve as excellent protection for nerve cells from any manifestation of hypoxia, that is, taking Actovegin, Piracetam and Cerebrolysin;
- Taking anti-migraine drugs;
- Taking metabolite drugs;
- Therapeutic massage;
- Osteopathic practices;
- In particularly severe cases, surgical stabilization of the cervical vertebrae is necessary.
